The Union cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to further amend the Competition Act-2002 for bringing it up to speed with present-day corporate requirements.

The Union cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to further amend the Competition Act-2002 for bringing it up to speed with present-day corporate requirements.

Major amendments approved by the cabinet relate to changing the definition of "turnover" and "group", reducing the overall time limit of finalisation of mergers and acquisitions from 210 days to 180 days, and insertion of a new section that will enable the government to lay down — in consultation with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) — different thresholds for any class of enterprise.

The move is part of CCI’s efforts to gain expertise in dealing with complex deals manipulated to help reap extra-normal profits through monopoly-like market structures.

CCI enjoys powers under a 2009 law to clamp down on firms for anti-competitive beha-viour and abuse of market dominance by forming price cartels. CCI is examining a spate of anti-competitive complaints.